Automatic blank feeding mechanism for horizontally arranged presses



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Dec. 18, 1962 H. WAGNER 3,059,010

AUTOMATIC BLANK FEEDING MECHANISM FOR HORIZONTALLY ARRANGED PRESSES Filed March 29, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 18, 1 962 AGNER 3,069,010

H. W AUTOMATIC BLANK FEEDING MECHANISM FOR HORIZONTALLY ARRANGED PRESSES Filed March 29, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,069,010 AUTOMATIC BLANK FEEDING MECHANISM FUR HORHZON'IALLY ARRANGED PRESSES Hans Wagmer, Uhingen, Germany, assignor to L. Schuler .G., Goppingen, Germany, a firm Filed Mar. 29, 1966, Ser. No. 18,428 Claims priority, applicaticn Germany Oct. 10, 1959 11 (Ilaims. (Cl. 207-1) The present invention relates in general to die presses and in particular to a new and useful automatic blank feeding mechanism for die presses including means for holding a blank over the die opening to permit it to be advanced into the opening by a reciprocating ram.

The presses here concerned are more particularly such presses in which the blank is made to undergo plastic flow under the action of the ram pressure. In known presses of this type the blank is inserted into a recess in a sliding blank feeding member which pushes the blank in front of the die opening. At that moment, a hammer is brought to bear on the blank and thrusts it into the die opening. This thrusting of the blank into the die by means of a hammer has appeared to be an unavoidable requirement in known presses of the type here concerned.

This type of feeding has the disadvantage that the operation of the blank feeding and hammer operating mechanism requires a comparatively long time for the completion of each cycle of operation. Thus, in the time which lapses between the ejection or stripping of a finished workpiece and the pushing of the ram into the die, that is to say, While the crank of the drive travels an angle of 90, the slide with the blank has to be placed in front of the die opening, the hammer has to be actuated, then retracted, and finally hammer and sliding member have to be moved out of the operating range of the press ram. While these operations can be successfully performed at low operational speeds with small blanks, they lead to difficulties when high operational speeds are required and when with increasing velocity of the hammer and slide movement, higher momenta appear which cause undesirable oscillations and vibrations, particularly when the slide has to be suddenly braked in its position in front of the die opening.

Since the invention particularly refers to die presses using blanks in which the outer diameter of the blank corresponds rather closely to the diameter of the die opening, the blank feeder must not oscillate at a time when the hammer thrusts the blank into the opening, otherwise the blank strikes the edge of the die and does not enter properly into the opening. As a consequence, the slide will possibly become jammed, and, when any drive element of the slide becomes broken, the slide will be arrested in the operational range of the press ram, and it will be caught by the ram and crushed. In general, not only the slide, but also the die and possibly the press ram will become damaged in such a case.

An acceleration of the blank feeding mechanism beyond a certain speed is not only impossible because of the oscillation which occurs upon braking with the consequences which were above described, but also for the reason that the masses of the hammer and the slide can only be accelerated with a Very considerable expenditure of power in order to reach the necessary operating speeds within the short time available. The larger the blank diameter, the larger also is the hammer necessary for thrusting it into the die opening and the larger become the masses to be accelerated and braked while the operational speed of the blank feeding mechanism remains comparatively low.

The present invention is based on an arrangement for extending the time which can be used for feeding the blank. The invention includes means for holding the blank in the path of movement of the ram with no part 3,069,016 Patented Dec. 18, 1962 ice of the feeding mechanism extending into the operational range of the press ram. Thus the insertion of the blank into its final position, just preceding the press operation, can begin at a time when the previously pressed workpiece will have been just removed from the die. The feed movement has only to be completed when the press ram has returned from the previous stroke to a position immediately facing the die. The problem is solved, according to the invention, by placing the blank, through the feeding mechanism, only in front of the die and not into the die. The insertion of the blank into the die occurs not by a hammer, but by the press ram itself, a procedure which means a complete break with a tradition which has lasted almost one hundred years.

The invention, therefore, consists in guiding the blank by the action of the feeding device to a position in front of the die and to hold it there centered with respect to die opening in a device ready for being taken along by the press ram, so that contrary to all known arrangements the blank is brought into the die by the action of the press ram alone. The invention has a number of advantages, one of which is that with larger blanks the comparatively heavy hammer can be completely omitted. Since the other movable parts of the feeding device are not subject to high stresses they can be made of light weight materials so that no larger masses have to be accelerated and decelerated. Consequently, the press according to the invention can be operated with a considerably higher number of working strokes per unit of time than was possible with the known feeding devices.

In one embodiment of the invention, the holding device comprises jaws which are radially movable with respect to the center of the die, said jaws being shaped like pincers. This spells a particularly simple construction of the holding device. An embodiment of the feeding mechanism can further comprise the feature that the jaws of the holding device have beveled inner surfaces at the sides facing the die opening. Since the jaws are mostly under spring action when lying against the blank, there will be a residual spring action, when the press ram has taken the blank out of the holding device and pushed it into the die opening. The ram is smaller than the die by the thickness of the wall of the workpiece to be pressed, so that the material flowing along the ram and out of the die opening can open the pincer-like holding device by attacking the beveled surfaces. These beveled surfaces therefore make it possible to do away with a separate control drive for opening the pincers during the plastic flow of the material. Furthermore, these beveled surfaces make possible the passing of flowing pressed material back through theholding device without obstruction for subsequent stripping from the press ram.

In one embodiment of the invention, the jaws of the holding device also have beveled surfaces at the sides facing away from the die. The advantage of a beveled surface on this side is to be seen therein that in case there is no blank in final position, the advancing press ram is capable of urging apart the mouth of the pincer- 1 like holding device against spring action.

It is not absolutely necessary that the mouth of the holding device is held in a closed position by springs and that parts of the holding device engage the blank in its end position under spring action. The end position of the blank can also be brought about by fixed parts without spring action.

The blank may be brought in front of the die opening from any desired direction. In horizontally arranged die presses, it is advantageous to feed the blank to the die from the top downward. In this case it is not necessary to positively push the blank along its entire course within the feeding device. However, in a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, even with vertical arrange- .3 meat, the blank is positively moved through the feeding device over the last section of the travel, that is, when the blank is moved from a ready position into final position; for this purpose, a lever is provided which is reciprocated simultaneously with the ram. This lever has a projection which catches the blank from behind and pushes it into final position. This insures that even with the highest speed of the press operation, the blank will be in a final position when needed. The feeding to ready position may be effected solely by gravity or can also be brought about positively. Due to the positive movement from ready position to final position, the operation of the press will not be disturbed When the blank will be fed to ready position only with delayed action, or not at all, when due to the lack of a positive drive and on the effect of gravity only, there will be a lag in the travel to said ready position. A disturbance of the operation will not occur, since the blank cannot be moved to final position if it is not at the ready position at a certain time and is gripped there by the feed drive. When, therefore, the blank is delayed in the section where it is not positively driven, the machine will simply go idle for one revolution without any parts being damaged.

It has already been mentioned that the blank is positively moved into final position by a projection of the rocking lever which catches the blank from behind and pushes it to final position. Theoretically the case might occur that the projection cannot catch the blank from behind since the blank is not yet in ready position in that moment. In that case, the possibility could arise that the projection instead of catching a blank from behind, comes to lie on the blank surface and pushes in a direction of the final position, but the blank would not completely reach the final position. The press ram would then not be capable of inserting the blank completely into the die opening, but a segment-shaped piece would be detained at the edge of the die and could be the cause of disturbances. In order to eliminate such a source of disturbance, a safety device is provided which is actuated when the projection of the rocking lever at the beginning of the operation stroke does not reach behind the blank so as to push it into final position. In one embodiment of the invention, the projection pushing the blank into final position is rockably mounted on the lever and the safety cut-out device has a contact which is actuated by the rocking movement, said contact being in a control circuit together with a second periodically actuated contact which is synchronously operated with the ram drive. The two contacts cooperate in such a manner that the safety device will be energized when the projection during the operating stroke of the lever is not in rocked position and will therefore not catch the blank from behind.

The arrangement can be so made that during an idle stroke of the reciprocating lever a blank will be in ready position and the projection of the lever which is rockable under spring action will slide over the blank held in ready position and will then be brought behind the blank for action. In the embodiment described in the following, the blank will only enter the ready position after the lever has almost completed its idle stroke and the rockable projection will be moved out of the path of the blank in order that the blank can be brought into ready position. This has the advantage that sources of disturbance can be eliminated as far as possible and never can two blanks be brought into ready or final positions in close sequence.

Further devices associated with the feeding mechanism according to the invention are a control device for the feeding of blanks into ready position, further devices controlling the drive and the adjustment for the several parts of the feeding device, and a safety device which is associated with the rocking lever of the feeding mechanism and which enters the range of the press ram in order to arrest the machine in case a workpiece is left within the operating range due to failure of the ejecting or stripping device.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide an improved blank feeding means for die presses.

A further object of the invention is to provide a die press feeding device including means for holding a blank directly over the die opening to permit the same to be taken along by the reciprocating ram which is moved into the opening.

A further object of the invention is to provide a die press feeding device including means for feeding a plurality of blanks in succession to a location centered over a die opening, and including feed control means operative in timed relationship with a reciprocating ram arranged to direct the blank into the opening as the ram is reciprocated, and including means for advancing each blank in succession to a position centered over the opening and for stopping the ram whenever a blank is improperly fed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a blank feeding mechanism for a die press including spaced rail members which are pivotally mounted on a supporting base and movable toward and away from each other to accommodate various size blanks which are fed between a track defined by the rail members.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means for aligning blank-holding pincer-shaped members in alignment with the die opening whereby to position the blank between the jaws of said members for movement into the opening by a reciprocating ram associated therewith.

A further object of the invention is to provide a blank feeding mechanism which permits operation of a reciprocating ram member at higher operational speeds than heretofore.

A further object of the invention is to provide a blank feeding device for a die press which is simple in design, rugged in construction, and economical to manufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects obtained by its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of the feeding device constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 44 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view of the operation of the safety switching mechanism.

In the embodiment of the machine shown in the drawings, numeral 1 designates the bore of a die or matrix 2 which is secured in a die support 3. The feeding device is fastened to a base plate 4 (FIGS. 1 and 3) which is mounted on the support 3 and which has a semi-circular cutout portion 5 slightly spaced from and parallel to the outer edge of the die 2. The base plate 4 is secured by only two screws 6 on the support 3 of the machine on which it is also held by dowel or fitting pins 7; by unscrewing the two screws 6 it may be dismantled and exchanged.

The feeding device comprises two angularly spaced rails 8 and 9 which form lateral guides for the blank and have at their lower ends curved and beveled recesses 8' and 9' which are shaped like the jaws of pincers. At the side facing away from the die, rails 8 and 9 carry cover plates 11 along a track It} which a blank .3 will travel (see FIGS. 1 and 3); the cover plates 11 form supporting ledges for the blank 13 and prevent it from falling out of its course as it is guided by the rails 8 and 9 to the bore 1. The rails 8 and 9 are provided with closer spaced walls or shoulders 12 in the vicinity of the bore 1. These shoulders 12 also define the so-called ready position of the blank 13 from which the blank is automatically shifted to the final position defined by recesses 8 and 9.

FIG. 4 shows the profile of the lower rail ends with the pincer-shaped recesses S and 9. The rails 8 and 9 are beveled adjacent the top and bottom on faces 14 and 15 adjacent the bore 1 so that the pincer-shaped recesses 8' and 9 can act as spring and deflecting surfaces to permit material to flow back from the surface of the press ram 70, if necessary, and also to permit the ram to pass between the pincers without damage at a time when no blank 13 is held therein.

The rails 8 and 9, which may be considered two halves of pincers forming a mouth at their bottom end in which the blank 13 is held in its final position, are pivotally mounted on eccentric rings or sleeves 16 and 17 which are in turn mounted for rotation on pins 18 and 19, respectively. These pins are confined for slideable movement in elongated slots and 21 of the plate 4 whereby the width of the track formed by rails 8 and 9 can be adjusted.

The construction of this adjusting device is more fully shown in FIG. 3. Pins 18 and 19 are held and guided in the elongated slots 20 and 21 by means of a shoulder 22 of the pins and a counter nut 23 attached thereto. When pin 18 is turned at the square end, the distance between the shoulder 22 and the nut 23 may be increased, the guiding occurring thereafter along the base plate 4 by sliding movement. The entire rail assemblies can be moved back and forth in the slot 20 in the directions of the double arrow 24. When another nut 25, which is screwed onto bolt 18, is loosened, the eccentric rings or sleeves 16 and 17 may be turned by means of a wrench inserted into radial bores 26 in each of the rings and in this manner a further adjustment of rails 8 and 9 can be accomplished.

Rails 8 and 9 are provided with arms 8" and 9 which form right angles therewith. Springs 27 and 28 serve for pulling the respective arms 8" and 9 towards adjustable stops 29 and 30 which are secured to plate 4.

When the guide rails are to be adjusted, bolts 18 and 19 are first freed and then adjusted in the slots 20 and 21 inorder to conform with the diameter of blank 13. Next the bolts 18 and 19 are tightened again and the nuts 25 are loosened whereupon the sleeves 16 and 17 can be turned. This is necessary in order to eliminate any eccentricities between the center of the pincer-shaped recesses 8 and 9 formed by the ends of rails 8 and 9 and the center of the tool, that is to say the axis of the die. By means of the eccentric rings or sleeves 16 and 17 the location of the pincers center can be adjusted, whereas the lateral position of the pincer center and its Width can be adjusted by means of the stops 29 and 39 and by sliding the bolts 18 and 19 in the respective slots 24) and 21.

The movable parts of the feeding device are driven by a cam 31 (FIG. 1) which is secured to a shaft 32 and driven in unison with the press ram 70. A cam follower 74 on one end of a toggle lever or crank 33 is held in contact with the cam 21. The lever 33 is pivoted on a pin member 76 and its other arm carries a roller 34 which engages a single arm of a lever 35 mounted for rotation on a pivot or bolt 36 secured to base plate 4. A rocking lever 37 is fastened by a screw 38 to the lever 35-. The screw is anchored in lever 35 and confined in a slot 39 in lever 37 where it can be tightened. Lever 37 is likewise rotatably mounted on the bolt 36 and the angular position formed between levers 35 and 37 can be adjusted by shifting screw 38 in the slot 39.

For better adjustment of the angle between levers 35 and 37 adjustment screws 40 and 41 are provided at the edges of lever 37. The purpose of the adjustment device is described more fully hereinbelow.

A spring 42 acts on lever 37 which urges the free end of lever 35 against the periphery of roller 34 of the toggle lever 33. Instead of the guide device here described, the free end of toggle lever 33 could be positively guided in the lever 35 so that spring 42 would be dispensable and the return movement of the rocking lever 37 would occur automatically. However, the above described arrangement has the advantage that when the feeding device is dismantled the connection between the toggle lever 33 and the lever 35 need not be taken apart.

At the end of lever 37 a short, pivotable projection 44 is fastened on a bolt 43. This projection can be moved in counter action to a rod-shaped spring 45 which is anchored at one end on a bolt projection 78' of lever 37. The short projection 44 in its biased, normal position extends with its end behind the rim of one of the blanks 13 in ready position by the shoulders 12 and into the track 10', defined laterally by rails 8 and 9 and in front by cover plates 11 (see FIG. 2). When the lever 37 is displaced clockwise around the pivot 36, the projection 44- pushes the blank 13 down to final position between the recesses 8' and 9. During this downward movement, the projection 44 is rotated somewhat around the bolt 43, so that the spring 45 attached to the projection comes into contact with the side of the lever 37, preventing any further clockwise rotation of the projection 44-. Projection 44 is moved counterclockwise out of the track 19 by a stop 46 which engages it at its top surface somewhat to the left of the bolt 43, toward the end of its idle stroke; the stop 46 is adjustable and is fastened to a support 47 which is secured to base plate 4. When the lever 37 is moved out of its upper dead end position, stop 46- releases projection 44 so that the latter can swing, already after a relatively short movement brought about by spring 45, in clockwise direction and into the track of the blanks. In the upper dead end position of lever 37, the blank 13 can therefore move past the projection 44 in track It) and can drop into the ready position defined by shoulders 12. Now the projection can reach downward and behind one of the blanks and is capable of pushing it into final position.

A contact electrode 48 is insulatingly secured to lever 37 and extends with its non-insulated free end into the course of the press ram 76 when lever 37 is in its lower position. The contact electrode is connected in an elec trical circuit (not shown) which operates the ram 78 and it is effective to contact any blank which may be still in bore 1 and stop the machine such as when a piece is still present in the track due to failure of the ejection device (not shown). Should a blank or a workpiece be left in front of the bore, it would be contacted by the free end of the electrode 48, closing thus through ground and the metallic workpiece its electrical circuit comprising a cut. off relay (not shown) which disconnects further operation of the machine. The electrode 48 being secured to lever 37, it will swing into the track of the workpiece only during the lowermost position of the lever 37. With proper operation of the ejecting or stripping device (not shown), there is no metallic contact to the electrode 48 and the operation does not have to be stopped.

There is a second contact arm 49 secured to lever 37 which provides another safety device. The bare front end of contact arm makes a ground connection through projection 44 when this is moved out of the blank track 10 owing to its rotation, as described above. Contact arm. 49 is connected to a control line 50 in which a further contact 51 (FIG. 5) is provided which is driven by a cam 52 that is mounted on or in synchronous movement with the drive shaft 32. Cam 52 is so shaped that the contact 51 is opened only when lever 37 is in the zone of the upper dead center position, as shown in FIG. 1. The feeding mechanism operates properly if the projection 44 is rotated out of the track only when the blank'is supposed to drop past the projection into the final position. If, however, two blanks have passed the projection, the latter will slide along the surface of one of the blanks and cannot move back into the track while the lever 37 moves downward. Consequently the safety device will respond and stop the machine through an electrical circuit (not shown) whenever during the clockwise rotation of lever 37 the projection 44 could not swing into the blank track 10.

A slide 53 has a slot 54 by means of which it is guided along a bolt 55 fastened to the base plate 4 and it can be tightened within the slot by means of a screw 56. The slide 53 supports a bolt 57 on which a toggle lever 53 is pivotally mounted. The toggle lever has two pins and 60 extending into the track 1% of blank 13 near the guiding edge of rail 9. Pins 59 and 6d are so arranged that in each angular position of toggle lever 58 at least one pin will extend into the track Rail 9 has recesses 61 and 62 in the area of pins 59 and 60.

Slot 54 serves for the adjustment of toggle lever 58- to correspond to the diameter of the blank. Toggle lever 58 can be pivoted by means of an adjustable stop 63 secured to lever 37 which engages with the free end of toggle lever 58 and moves it against the action of spring 80 in a clockwise direction when lever 37 is in upper dead center. In the spring-biased position of the toggle lever 58, the pin 60 is urged to extend into the blank track 10.

The rocking range of projection 44 has to be so adjusted that blank 13 will be in the final position between the grip of pincer shaped recesses 8 and 9 when lever 37 is at the lower dead center. For the adjustment of the lower dead center of the rocking lever 37 the adjustment device 38 to 41 is used which has been already described and by which the angular position between levers and 37 can be adjusted. It is therefore not necessary to change or adjust driving parts of the machine which operationally precede arm 35, when a blank of a different diameter is to be used.

in operation, toggle lever 58 is so positioned that pin 60 extends into the track 16 whereas pin 59 is outside of the track in the recess 61. By a chute 64 (not described in this application), a series of blanks 13 are fed downwardly by gravity to the device. Each blank as it is fed strikes the pin 59 and is arrested thereby. When lever 37 reaches the upper dead center, stop 63 moves toggle 58 in clockwise direction, so that pin 66 releases blank 13 and at the same time pin 59 enters the track 10 so that the remaining blanks are arrested at the pin 59. At the same time, projection 44 engages with stop 46 so that it likewise moves out of the track it in this way, blank 13 is free to drop in its track until it reaches the shoulder 12. it is then in ready position. After reversal of lever 37 from the upper dead center, it is removed from stop 46 so that the projection 44 enters the track 10 under the action of spring 45. The lever 3'7 descends further and engages the upper edge of the blank. Simultaneously stop 63 is removed from toggle lever 33 so that it will again be moved counter clockwise, whereby pin 6t? enters in track lit) and pin is moved out of the track so that a blank adjacent to pin 59 can drop down until it engages pin 60. Upon further downward movement of lever 37, projection 44 pushes blank 13 from ready position into final position between the recesses 3 and 9 at the pincer-shaped end of rails 8 and 9, the ends being opened against the action of springs 27 and 2b, and the blank 13 being maintained in final position by the same spring action.

The ram 70 of the press, which is not shown in FIG. 1, now pushes blank 13 toward the rear (as seen in FIG. 1) into the bore it of the die. Immediately after the blank has been pushed into the die and in the same operation, ram 70 urges the blank into the die and presses the blank into shape. The high pressure of the ram causes the blank to undergo plastic flow along the surface of the ram 70 and out from the bore and toward the pincer-like rail ends 8 and 9. Any material passing the ends 8 and 9 causes the opening of the pincers by engaging the beveled surfaces 14 and 15 from within against the action of springs 27 and 28. The workpiece is then ejected or stripped in a known manner after the ram has moved away. in die presses of the type here concerned, the workpiece strongly adheres to the ram after it has been pressed. The workpiece is therefore moved out of the bore of the die together with the ram, passes the beveled faces 14 and 15 of the pincer-shaped recesses 8 and 9, and is stripped from the ram by means not shown and claimed in the present application, far beyond the region of the disclosed blank feeding mechanism.

it due to failure of the discharge device a workpiece is not ejected, contact electrode 43 will disengage the drive when lever 37 moves down the next time. If by a disturbance, the projection does not quite move the blank into its final position, this projection will be lifted against the action of spring 4:; when lever 37 will descend again, and upon further movement of the lever, it will slide along the surface of the blank. Due to this, contact arm 49 will touch projection 44 at a moment when contact 51 is closed, the control line will be grounded, and a relay (not shown) which is in the control line will disengage the press drive.

On the plate 4 there is another adjustable stop for lever 37 which prevents the lever from entering the path of the ram 7 i if the spring 42, which is supposed to return the lever 37 into the upper dead center position, should be broken.

Instead of the two screws 6 by which the plate 4 is secured to the die support 3 or to the frame of the machine, there may be provided some other locking device or some other means for moving the parts.

The recesses 8 and 9 provided in the end portions of rails 8 and 9 which hold the blank 13 in final position in front of the die 2, can also be of straight shape which is not shown in the drawings. There may be a holding device below bore 1 of die 2 which is likewise not shown in the drawings in which the blank 13 is resting in final position. In this alternative, the eccentric rings or sleeves l6 and 17 may be omitted so that a simpler adjustment of the holding device mouth width, of the guiding track side, and an adjustment between the tool and the mouth of the holding device may be accomplished. The blank is only held at three points.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the invention principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

l. in a die press including a die member having a die opening and a reciprocable ram member, the improvement comprising a supporting plate member adjacent said die member, a chute arranged to feed a series of blanks to said plate member. a pair of spaced rail members adjacent the end of said chute and arranged to receive said blanks fed thereby, said rail members being spaced to define a trackway of substantially the same width as that of said blanks and pivotally mounted on said plate member by bolt members extending therethrough, said plate member including laterally elongated slots for said bolt members, the latter being laterally displaceable, whereby to ermit adjustment of the spacing of said rail members, said rail members terminating in blank holding portions adjacent said die opening, and pivotal lever means comprising an oscillating member oscillated in timed relationship to the reciprocation of said ram member, said oscillating member including a projection thereon arranged to move behind each of said blanks in succession and to advance the latter along said rail members to said blank holding portions into a position between said ram member and said die opening.

2. In a die press including a die member having a die opening and a reciprocable ram member, the improvement comprising a supporting plate member adjacent said die member, a chute arranged to feed a series of blanks to said plate member, a pair of spaced rail members adjacent the end of said chute and arranged to receive said blanks fed thereby, said rail members comprising crank arms pivotally mounted on said plate member and terminating in blank holding portions adjacent said die opening, one of said crank arms forming a trackway of substantially the same width as that of said blanks, the opposite one of said crank arms being biased in a direction to cause said blank holding portions to be biased toward each other, and pivotal lever means comprising an oscillating mem ber oscillated in timed relationship to the reciprocation of said ram member, said oscillating member including a projection thereon arranged to move behind each of said blank-s in succession and to advance the latter along said rail members to said blank holding portions into a position between said ram member and said die opening.

3. In a die press including a die member having a die opening and a reciprocable ram member, the improvement comprising a supporting plate member adjacent said die member, a chute arranged to feed a series of blanks to said plate member, a pair of spaced rail members adjacent the end of said chute and arranged to receive said blanks fed thereby, said rail members being pivotally mounted on said plate member and spaced to define a trackway of substantially the same width as that of said blanks, said rail members terminating in blank holding portions adjacent said die opening, said rail members including side wall portions of lesser width than the remaining portion thereon adjacent said blank holding portions, whereby to stop each of said blanks as they are advanced to said side wall portions, and pivotal lever means comprising an oscillating member oscillated in timed relationship to the reciprocation of said ram member, said lever means being eiiective to move said blanks further along said wall portions against the inward biasing of said rail members, said oscillating member including a projection thereon arranged to move behind each of said blanks in succession and to advance the latter along said rail members to said blank holding portions into a position between said ram member and said die opening.

4. In a die press including a die member having a die opening and a reciprocable ram member, the improvement comprising a supporting plate member adjacent said die member, a chute arranged to feed a series of blanks to said plate member, a pair of spaced rail members adjacent the end of said chute and arranged to receive said blanks fed thereby, said rail members being pivotally mounted on said plate member and spaced to define a trackway of substantially the same width as that of said blanks, said rail members terminating in blank holding portions adjacent said die opening, pivotal lever means comprising an oscillating member oscillated in timed re lationship to the reciprocation of said ram member, and adjustable stop means for limiting the movement of said oscillating member, the latter including a projection thereon arranged to move behind each of said blanks in succession and to advance the latter along said rail members to said blank holding portions into a position between said ram member and said die opening.

In a die press including a die member having a die opening and a reciprocable ram member, the improvement comprising a supporting plate member adjacent said die member, a chute arranged to feed a series of blanks to said plate member, a pair of spaced rail members adjacent the end of said chute and arranged to receive said blanks fed thereby, said rail members being pivotally mounted on said plate member and spaced to define a trackway of substantially the same width as that of said blanks, said rail members terminating in blank holding portions adjacent said die opening, pivotal lever means comprising an oscillating member oscillated in timed relationship to the reciprocation of said ram member, said oscillating member including a projection thereon arranged to move behind each of said blanks in succession and to advance the latter along said rail members to said blank holding portions into a position between said ram member and said die opening, a spring member connected to said oscillating member and supporting said projection in a position along said trackway, and stop means for deflecting said projection upon movement of said oscillating member to one end of the stroke, whereby to permit one of said blanks to be advanced therebeneath.

6. In a die press including a die member having a die opening and a reciprocable ram member, the improvement comprising a supporting plate member adjacent said die member, a chute arranged to feed a series of blanks to said plate member, a pair of spaced rail members adjacent the end of said chute and arranged to receive said blanks fed thereby, said rail members being pivotally mounted on said plate member and spaced to define a trackway of substantially the same width as that of said blanks, said rail members terminating in blank holding portions adjacent said die opening, pivotal lever means comprising an oscillating member oscillated in timed relationship to the reciprocation of said ram member, and electrical contact means attached to said oscillating member and including a portion extending outwardly therefrom in the direction of movement thereof as it advances one of said blanks, said contact means being operated in unison with said ram member and eitective when no blank is centered over said die opening so as to stop operation on said ram member.

7. In a die press including a die member having a die opening and a reciprocable ram member, the improvement comprising a supporting plate member adjacent said die member, a chute arranged to feed a series of blanks to said plate member, a pair of spaced rail members adjacent the end of said chute and arranged to receive said blanks fed thereby, said rail members being pivotally mounted on said plate member and spaced to define a trackway of substantially the same width as that of said blanks, said rail members terminating in blank holding portions adjacent said die opening, pivotal lever means comprising an oscillating member oscillated in timed relationship to the reciprocation of said ram member, and a lever control member pivotally mounted on said plate member and having one arm engageable With a portion of said oscillating member and an opposite arm including a stop member thereon movable into said trackway upon engagement of said opposite arm by said oscillating member and out of said trackway upon movement of said oscillating member out of engagement with said opposite arm, whereby to alternately retain and release each of said blanks in succession as they are advanced to said trackway, said oscillating member including a projection thereon arranged to move behind each of said blanks in succession and to advance the latter along said rail members to said blank holding portion into a position between said ram member and said die opening.

8. In a die press including a die member having a die opening and a reciprocable ram member, the improvement comprising a supporting plate member adjacent said die member, bolts connected to said plate member, a chute arranged to feed a series of blanks to said plate member, a pair of spaced rail members adjacent the end of said chute and arranged to receive said blanks fed thereby, said rail members being pivotally mounted on said bolts and spaced to define a trackway of substantially the same width as that of said blanks, an eccentric sleeve member extending around each of said bolts between the latter and said rail members, whereby to permit lateral adjustment of said rail members upon rotation of said sleeve members, said rail members terminating in blank holding portions adjacent said die opening, and pivotal lever means comprising an oscillating member oscillated in timed relationship to the reciprocation of said ram 11 member, said oscillating member including a projection thereon arranged to move behind each of said blanks in succession and to advance the latter along said rail members to said blank holding portions into a position between said ram member and said die opening.

9. in a die press including a die member having a die opening and a reciprocable ram member, the improvement comprising a supporting plate member adjacent said die member, a chute arranged to feed a series of blanks to said plate member, a pair of spaced rail members adjacent the end of said chute and arranged to receive said blanks fed thereby, said rail members being pivotally mounted on said plate member and spaced to define a trackway of substantially the same width as that of said blanks, said rail members terminating in blank holding portions adjacent said die opening and including rounded pincer-shaped jaws, and pivotal lever means comprising an oscillating member oscillated in timed relationship to the reciprocation of said ram member, said oscillating member including a projection thereon arranged to move behind each of said blanks in succession and to advance the latter along said rail members to said blank holding portions into a position between said ram member and said die opening.

10. The improvement of a die'press according to claim 9, wherein said jaws have beveled top faces.

11. The improvement in a die press according to claim 10, wherein said jaws are beveled on each side.

References Cited in the his of this patent UL ITED STATES PA? 1,561,957 Towne NOV. 17, 1925 1,699,504 Lynch Jan. 15, 1929 1,895,331 Kelly Ian. 24, 1933 2,979,905 Friden May 11, 1937 Leif 1,706 Blair Apr. 3, 1945 2,559,207 Wnuk July 3, 1951 2,811,876 Batchelder Nov. 5, 1957 

